Best High Schools in California

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Find the best California high schools with SchoolDigger.com! Focused on test scores for accurate rankings, our user-friendly site simplifies your search. Empower your decisions by exploring top-rated schools, only on SchoolDigger.com - the ultimate guide to K-12 schools!

Year after year, SchoolDigger is always the first to publish California test scores and rankings. Other sites use stale test score data that are several years old! Be in the know with the very latest performance metrics.

The list is updated annually upon the release of the CAST and Smarter Balanced Assessments test scores by the California Department of Education. The most recent update was on Thursday, October 9, 2025.

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School														Students/Teachers											Per Pupil Expenditures (2024)							Ranking (2025 vs 2024)					ID
Rank (of 2162)	School	Type	Grades	Address	City	Zip	County	District	Is Charter	Is Magnet	Is Virtual	Is Title I	Phone	# Students	Full-time Teachers	Student/ Teacher Ratio	Free/Disc Lunch Recipients	White	Black	Hispanic	Asian	American Indian	Pacific Islander	Two or More Races	Per Pupil Expenditures: Total	Personnel from Federal Funds	Non-Personnel from Federal Funds	Total from Federal Funds	Personnel from State and Local Funds	Non-Personnel from State and Local Funds	Total from State and Local Funds	Average Standard Score (2025)	Average Standard Score (2024)	Rank (2024)	Rank Change from 2024	SchoolDigger Rating (2025)	ID
631	Livermore High	Public	9-12	600 Maple St.	Livermore	94550	Alameda County	Livermore Valley Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(925) 606-4812	1,827	85	21.4	23.5%	733 (40.1%)	34 (1.9%)	648 (35.5%)	253 (13.8%)	0 (0.0%)	5 (0.3%)	152 (8.3%)	$15,804			$252			$15,552	68.2	75.7	475	156		062211002630
632	Rancho Buena Vista High	Public	9-12	1601 Longhorn Dr.	Vista	92081	San Diego County	Vista Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(760) 727-7284	1,949	103	18.9	70.1%	414 (21.2%)	32 (1.6%)	1,300 (66.7%)	79 (4.1%)	8 (0.4%)	10 (0.5%)	101 (5.2%)	$18,573			$2,843			$15,730	68.2	73.6	513	119		064119009203
633	Los Molinos High	Public	9-12	7900 Sherwood Blvd.	Los Molinos	96055	Tehama County	Los Molinos Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 384-7900	203	12	16.4	57.6%	98 (48.3%)	0 (0.0%)	86 (42.4%)	5 (2.5%)	1 (0.5%)	0 (0.0%)	13 (6.4%)	$21,430			$1,262			$20,168	68.1	53.3	925	292		062286003497
634	Pierce High	Public	9-12	960 Wildwood Rd.	Arbuckle	95912	Colusa County	Pierce Joint Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(530) 476-2277	463	27	17.3	76.0%	65 (14.0%)	6 (1.3%)	381 (82.3%)	5 (1.1%)	0 (0.0%)	1 (0.2%)	5 (1.1%)	$14,118			$1,896			$12,222	68.1	43.6	1159	525		063036004736
635	Impact Academy of Arts & Technology	Public, Charter	6-12	2560 Darwin St.	Hayward	94545	Alameda County	Impact Academy of Arts & Technology District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(510) 300-1560	716	36	19.8	52.8%	24 (3.4%)	18 (2.5%)	450 (62.8%)	90 (12.6%)	1 (0.1%)	30 (4.2%)	103 (14.4%)	$13,993			$1,687			$12,306	68.1	78.6	428	207		060164711849
636	Vanden High	Public	9-12	2951 Markeley Ln.	Fairfield	94533	Solano County	Travis Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 437-7333	1,631	66	24.7	41.1%	309 (18.9%)	273 (16.7%)	446 (27.3%)	314 (19.3%)	6 (0.4%)	14 (0.9%)	260 (15.9%)	$13,888			$1,672			$12,216	68	67.4	605	31		063963006600
637	Monterey High	Public	9-12	101 Herrmann Dr.	Monterey	93940	Monterey County	Monterey Peninsula Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(831) 392-3801	1,401	61	22.8	58.2%	401 (28.6%)	79 (5.6%)	702 (50.1%)	122 (8.7%)	6 (0.4%)	25 (1.8%)	65 (4.6%)	$20,340			$1,780			$18,560	68	64.3	669	32		062553003839
638	Sonora High	Public	9-12	430 North Washington St.	Sonora	95370	Tuolumne County	Sonora Union High	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(209) 532-5511	880	38	22.9	38.3%	542 (61.6%)	9 (1.0%)	206 (23.4%)	18 (2.0%)	15 (1.7%)	1 (0.1%)	85 (9.7%)								67.9	70.4	560	78		063726006306
639	Northwest Prep Charter	Public, Charter, Alternative	K-12	2590 Piner Rd.	Santa Rosa	95401	Sonoma County	Northwest Prep Charter District	Yes	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 522-3320	138	8	17.6	67.4%	58 (42.0%)	1 (0.7%)	60 (43.5%)	4 (2.9%)	0 (0.0%)	0 (0.0%)	14 (10.1%)								67.9	53.5	918	279		060200611480
640	American Canyon High	Public	9-12	3000 Newell Dr.	American Canyon	94503	Napa County	Napa Valley Unified	No	(n/a)	No	(n/a)	(707) 265-2710	1,720	73	23.4	56.3%	196 (11.4%)	145 (8.4%)	638 (37.1%)	579 (33.7%)	1 (0.1%)	14 (0.8%)	144 (8.4%)	$15,864			$1,420			$14,444	67.9	62.9	697	57		062664012535

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New! SchoolDigger ranking lists for CA student subgroups:

Female Students Male Students Asian Students African American Students Hispanic Students Native American Students Pacific Islander Students White Students Multi-racial Students Special Education Students Low Socio Economic Status Students Migrant Students Homeless Students Military Connected Students

About our rankings:

Schooldigger calculates school rankings based on CAST Science, Smarter Balanced Assessments English Language Arts/Literacy, Smarter Balanced Assessments Mathematics test scores released by the California Department of Education.
These rankings were last updated on October 9, 2025, and are based on the most recent test scores available. We update rankings as we receive new test scores from the California Department of Education, usually on a yearly basis.
Our sources of data include the National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education and the California Department of Education.
For more information about our ranking process, please see our Ranking FAQ. Details about our methodology are here.

Educational resources:

No Child Left Behind (NCLB): A Comprehensive Analysis of Its Impact on Education

Public School Districts and Their Services: A Comprehensive Guide

SchoolDigger data sources: National Center for Education Statistics, U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau and the California Department of Education.